Since 19 September, the Azerbaijani armed forces have been shelling the civilian settlements of Nagorno-Karabakh, targeting the civilian population and infrastructure: residential buildings, schools, etc. Azerbaijani armed forces use large-caliber weapons, including artillery, against the civilian population. According to the information registered in the staff of the RA Human Rights Defender, as a result of the shelling, there are currently 32 killed and more than 200 wounded, including 7 dead (2 children) and 35 wounded (13 children) among the civilian population.

As a result of Azerbaijani aggression, buildings, cars parked in yards, houses were damaged. In the early morning of 20 September, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces fired at the Stepanakert ambulance, which was on its way to the Martakert region to transport the bodies of eight people who died as a result of the Azerbaijani attack.

According to the information spread by open sources, the Azerbaijani armed forces also opened fire on the vehicles of the Russian peacekeepers, when the latter attempted to evacuate women and children from Nagorno Karabakh through the Lachin corridor, through the Hakari bridge.

These facts come to confirm that the armed forces of Azerbaijan aim to complete the ethnic cleansing of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The Human Rights Defender’s staff also monitors the Azerbaijani press and social networks, as a result of which a large number of posts targeting the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh on the basis of ethnic origin, promoting and justifying hatred and violence by the users of social networks. The defender notes that such an intolerant attitude of the Azerbaijani society is the consequence and proof of the Anti-Armenian policy of the Azerbaijani authorities.

The Human Rights Defender specially emphasizes that Azerbaijan’s aggression grossly violates the principles of international law and international humanitarian law. The Defender calls on international organizations and actors with a mandate to protect human rights to give an appropriate assessment to Azerbaijani actions and to take immediate measures to stop mass crimes.